Secret Feelings (From Childhood)
by Pikapegasus
Summary: Who even is this girl? Tony looks around her, his eyes landing on the desk she'd just been working at. Virginia Potts, according to the nametag on the wood, is her name. What a weird name. A weird name for a weird girl, Tony thinks. But she's so...peppy. He's never heard of a peppy girl named Virginia. (Written for Pepperony Week Days 6 & 7 [AU & free].) (Oneshot.)


**A/N:** I'M SO LATE ADLVNOSBVSONVP I'M SO SORRY LMAO I'm the True Hot Mess here,,, this is supposed to be for day 6 of Pepperony Week, an AU, but day 7 is just do what you want day so let's just count this one for both since it's long af hehe...Anyway, here's a childhood friends AU!

* * *

 **Pepperony Week 2016, Days 6 + 7:** AU + free

 _Childhood friends AU._

* * *

"You did this one wrong."

Tony looks up from his paper, which contains the sketch of his latest project (a remote control car that's actually _cool_ , unlike the dingy ones his dad buys for him from the store), at the soft, yet confident, voice. He finds himself staring into the blue eyes of this girl with light red hair; he recognizes her as the girl who lives across the street from him (but he's never talked to her). She holds his latest math worksheet out to him, as she had offered to check his work after pointing out that he'd finished it in only two minutes. The rest of their class is engaged in their own activities around the classroom.

"That's impossible," he says automatically, because this is mere _second grade_ math (though he is only in kindergarten, with this girl who'd insisted on checking over his work) and he is something of a _genius_. (At least, that's what the doctors had told his parents.) This girl isn't supposed to be a genius, _too._ He snatches the paper from her hands, crinkling it slightly and frowning at her.

"Check number five," she says simply, not intimidated by his aggression in the slightest. Tony admires her a little for that. "Seventy-seven plus sixty-four is _not_ a hundred and forty-two. I worked it out on this paper, _twice_. See?"

She holds up another paper to his eyes, this sheet containing her scrawl of the same problem from his worksheet, as she said, _twice._ Her answer appears to have been one hundred and forty- _one_ , not forty- _two_ , each time. Interesting.

This math is child's play to Tony, really; he's been adding and subtracting big numbers in his head since he was _two_ , multiplying and dividing since he was _three_...he _loved_ numbers. Numbers work really well with science, which is the thing he likes the most, because he can build cool things, such as the car he's been sketching since this peppy girl decided to show him up. The teacher gives him harder worksheets in class since she knows Tony's advanced, but even then, it's _still_ too easy.

That being said, it's not the first time Tony has written down the wrong number in a rush.

He grumbles, slapping his math worksheet down over his sketch on the desk and erasing the incorrect number with the pink tip of his pencil. As he fills in the space with the correct answer, he notices that this girl, his classmate, has yet to leave. She simply watches him fix his mistake.

"I just wrote the wrong thing down," he explains to her.

"It's okay," she says happily, as if he's upset and needs cheering up; he's _doesn't_. "We all make mistakes sometimes!"

Tony hasn't met a lot of people who are as cheery about making mistakes as this girl. That's so _weird_. (For that matter, _girls_ are weird.) It's a little...nice, though, he thinks. He doesn't really have many friends in the class since his best friend, Rhodey, whom he's known _basically_ since he was born, was put into the other kindergarten class at the start of the year. Tony isn't really interested in making a lot of friends, and everyone seems to think he's strange because he's so smart. He thinks everyone else is just dumb, then.

But this girl still has yet to walk away from his desk. Her smile fades, morphing into a frown, as she crosses her arms over her chest and looks at him with the same expression his mom does when she's uncertain about something.

Tony really doesn't want to ask, but he does. "What do you want?"

"Um, how about a _thank you_?" She's _very_ straightforward for a puny six year old. (Tony is a puny six year old himself, of course, but being a genius means he's more mature than everyone else, right?) "If I didn't show you your mistake, you would not get a perfect grade."

Again, they're _six_ , so they're not _supposed_ to pay much attention to grades. But Tony's parents do, so Tony does. He never thought anyone else in this bunch would have, either, but a lot of things don't really make much sense. He shrugs.

"It's not that big of a deal," Tony insists, but she stares at him _harder_. It's a little scary. He decides to just go along with what she says. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she says proudly, now smiling like she's just finished building a successful project. Tony relates to the feeling. "My dad has been showing me how to add big numbers like that, so it was fun checking your work. He says you should always double check your work before you turn it in so you can fix your mistakes!"

Tony's never done that before. Being a genius means he's supposed to be _super_ smart, so that means he doesn't make a lot of mistakes...or so he thought.

She points to his sketch. "Whoa! Your drawing is really good!"

Her words take him off guard as he scrambles to cover up his pencil-drawn car with his tiny hands. His dad always scolded him for taking too long with his drawings and adding details he could never _actually_ build. Drawings are just a dream, his dad insisted; they can never be brought fully to life. Tony's been working on this particular sketch all day, not just for his actual building project, but also for the fun of just... _drawing._

"No, no, don't cover it up!" His hands are gently, but quickly, pushed away by hers as she reveals the sketched car. A sound of awe escapes her mouth. "That looks _so_ cool! You drew this?"

"Yeah," he answers, looking up at her. "You like it?"

"Yes! I wanna drive a car like that!" she says cheerfully, meeting his eyes.

"Well," he feels some of his "Stark" confidence return to him, "I'm planning on _building_ it later when I get home. Not a big car, I mean, it's gonna be a little one that I can control with a remote. A remote control car. I wanna build my own because the store ones aren't fun."

She's nodding along to everything he says as if she _gets it_. "Wow! That's even _cooler_!" She puts a hand on his arm. "I wanna see your car after you finish building it! I bet it'll be really fun to play with."

Who even _is_ this girl? Tony looks around her, his eyes landing on the desk she'd just been working at. _Virginia Potts_ , according to the nametag on the wood, is her name. What a _weird_ name. A weird name for a weird girl, Tony thinks. But she's so... _peppy_ , like those girls on TV that try to be on the top of their classes and do the most work. He's never heard of a peppy girl named _Virginia_. On top of that, her freckles remind him of literal _pepper_ , as the varied spots are peppered across her face.

Tony's heard some of the other kids call him weird, but if _she's_ weird, then, maybe...they could be friends?

"I'll let you know," he finally replies to "Virginia" with a firm nod. "You're my friend now."

His words quiet her for a moment, but she returns with a wider smile and even _happier_ voice. "And you're my friend, too, Anthony."

He frowns at the name. "You can just call me 'Tony.' Friends use nicknames, right?" Tony and Rhodey do, at least. "I like the name 'Tony' better."

"Okay, Tony!" She accepts his words easily, then hesitates. "Um...I don't know if you can make a nickname out of my name."

She has a point - "Virginia" doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room for nicknames. But Tony already has another idea in mind. "How about 'Pepper'?"

"I like salt more. It tastes better."

"You want me to call you _salt_?"

"What? Ew, _no!_ "

"So can I call you 'Pepper'?"

" _Why?_ " She crosses her arms over her chest with a huff. "That's not even _close_ to my name!"

Oh, yeah, she's _definitely_ a "Pepper", alright.

"Okay! That's _officially_ your name now!" Tony says with a giggle. "You're welcome for the nickname! Feel free to thank me."

The newly named "Pepper" thanks him by swatting his arm.

* * *

 _Report to the secret base at 1300 hours._

Pepper has to ask her father what the _heck_ Natasha's note meant, and apparently Natasha used something called "military time" to say that she wanted Pepper to come over to the secret base at 1:00 PM. While her father had thought it to be pretty funny, Pepper thinks it's a _little_ over the top. Natasha _really_ gets into this whole "Avengers" game she made up two years prior sometimes, where they have to go on secret missions and save the world, but Pepper doesn't play the role of an Avenger very often herself.

She got into the group because of Tony, who's decided he's some hero named "Iron Man." According to Natasha, Pepper is Iron Man's "devoted" and "loving" _wife_. Tony, of course, had agreed to it easily enough, while Pepper decided to just let it go, since she isn't all that interested in roughhousing with the other boys like Tony and Natasha are, anyway.

So she crawls under the tall, black walkways of the playground, sighing as the wooden bark chips poke the palms of her hands and her legs. By the time she arrives at the most secluded part, where vertical panels containing games on the outside come together to form a dark hiding spot inside, Natasha's sitting there with a very serious expression.

"Pepper, help!" she says as if there's an _actual_ emergency (which Pepper knows there _isn't_ ). "Your husband is in trouble!"

"Tony?" Pepper rolls her eyes. Tony? Trouble? What else is new?

"Iron Man was kidnapped by Hammer agents!" Natasha waves her hands around dramatically. Pepper covers her mouth, yawning. "You have to rescue him!"

Ah. The magic word. _Rescue._

"Look!" Natasha grabs Pepper's arm and pulls her to the open side of their hideout, pointing across the playground to the nearby area where the swings are. Pepper catches sight of Tony topping Natasha's dramatics as he flings his hands around crazily, yelling some nonsense as Clint, Steve, and Thor - apparently playing the roles of the bad guys today - try to hold him in place. Bruce lies on the ground (the _cemented_ ground, thankfully) beside them to show that he's been defeated, Pepper figures. Clint even laughs maniacally. Pepper decides they've all been watching too many superhero movies recently.

"Go! Rescue him! Rescue, rescue, rescue!" Natasha chants, shaking Pepper by the arm with each repetition of the word.

"Alright, _alright_." Pepper prys Natasha's hands off of her, standing up straight. Maybe a little roughhousing with the boys every once in awhile isn't _that_ bad. She snaps her fingers, suddenly remembering something. "Wait, before we start, wanna have a sleepover after school next Friday? It's been so long!"

"It's been _two weeks_ ," Natasha deadpans. But then she nods. "I'm in! Now, go rescue Tony!"

Pepper nods, slipping back into her very serious character. She runs out from under the playground toward the swings, holding her arms out in front of her as if she were flying (because Iron Man can fly, and apparently Iron Man's wife uses Iron Man's powers whenever she has to rescue someone). "Release Iron Man! I'm here to rescue him!"

"Ah! No! It's Rescue!" Clint yells. (Iron Woman was a _dumb_ name to Pepper when Tony had first suggested it. Everyone else agreed. They then realized that Pepper always came to _rescue_ people when the normal Avengers weren't able to, so she was eventually just called _Rescue_.) "Stev- _agent_ , stop her!"

Steve is small, but deadly. He's knocked Pepper over during their Avengers shenanigans before (and he would immediately apologize and fluster afterward), so she stops. She makes _pew! pew!_ noises, aiming her open hands at him. There's supposed to be laser beams shooting from her palms. Steve reacts accordingly, grunting in pain and collapsing to the ground.

"I'm hit, I'm hit!" Steve groans.

"You suck, agent!" Clint says.

Pepper steps around him. Clint and Thor retreat farther back toward the swings, Tony calling for help along the way.

"I'm coming, Iron Man!" Pepper yells to Tony before stopping beside Bruce, who's watching Pepper from his place on the ground. She crouches down beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You're safe now, Hulk!"

Bruce sits up with a smile and nod. "Thank you, Rescue!"

"Just doing my job!" Pepper returns the smile before running after Clint, Thor, and Tony. They leave the bark area of the swings, running out onto the wide, open, grassy area. Pepper pursues them.

"Help me, Pep- _Rescue!_ " Tony calls out, struggling against Clint and Thor's hold on him. Pepper quickens her pace.

"Release him!" she orders Clint and Thor as she starts to catch up; it's hard to run while holding onto someone, and with Tony's struggling, Clint and Thor have slowed their running considerably. Thor suddenly lets go of Tony, leaving Clint just running off with him, then turns around to face Pepper.

" _Pow! Pow!_ " Thor pretends to shoot Pepper with two guns, but she shakes her head.

"My metal suit deflects bullets!" She runs up to Thor, pretending to punch him. He falls to the ground with a cry.

"She has conquered me! The Rescue is a formidable foe!" Thor says, lying back against the grass. "Go on without me, Agent Barton!"

"Already did that!" Clint calls over his shoulder without turning back.

"Help me!" Tony repeats.

Pepper jumps over Thor's "body" and resumes running after Tony. She catches up to him and Clint within thirty seconds, mentally patting herself on the back for wearing comfortable clothes for playing so intensely. "I'm coming!"

She tags Clint's back, making a _boom!_ sound, and grabs for Tony's shirt. Clint stumbles with a (not so pained) gasp, allowing Pepper to pull Tony into her arms and away from Clint. She guides him a few feet away before letting him go.

"There. You're safe now, Iron Man," she reassures him, breathing heavily. These missions _really_ wear her out sometimes!

Tony smiles at her, though he's panting, too. He nods. "Thank you for saving me, Rescue. It was hot." He winks at her, then presses a kiss to her cheek ("For the part! We're _married!_ " he'd insisted the the first time he'd done it and Pepper flicked his forehead). "I love you."

Pepper sighs softly. "I love you, too."

But she keeps her guard up because there is _one_ person she has yet to encounter on either friend or foe side. Tony acts normally, clearly not suspicious of anything, taking Pepper by the hand and leading her back toward the playground.

As they pass a tree, Pepper hears evil laughter; it's maniacal like Clint's had been at the beginning of the mission, as the current source of it is who Clint had learned it _from._ She turns toward the sound, pushing Tony behind her back.

"Show yourself!" she calls to the dark wood.

Lo and behold, Natasha steps out from behind the tree, wearing a grin that actually _scares_ Pepper a little, despite Natasha being nine years old and the smallest out of all of them. Natasha laughs again and Pepper takes a step back with Tony.

"Give him up, Rescue," Natasha taunts, walking toward them. "We need him for Hammer stuff. Like, _bad_ Hammer stuff. You can't protect him forever!"

"Yes, I can!" Pepper insists, meeting Natasha halfway. She holds her hands out toward Natasha to shoot her laser beams, but Natasha tumbles out of the way. Before Pepper can dodge, Natasha jumps at her, pulling her down to the grass with her.

"You can do it, Rescue!" Tony cheers. "Do it for Iron Man, your lawfully wedded husband!"

Pepper rolls her eyes at Tony's nonsense, holding Natasha away from her by the shoulders. Natasha pushes against her hands, trying to get closer to Pepper. "You'll never win this one!"

Normally, Natasha has rules about playing with the boys, about what's fair play and what's not; Pepper's found that these rules do not apply to her, however, as Natasha's never chased after _her_ with a stick and an endless stream of threats after _she's_ broken one of these rules. There is one _specific_ rule Pepper breaks each time she joins them, and today will be no exception.

She lets go of one of Natasha's shoulders…

...and tickles Natasha's belly.

Instantaneously, the evil expression on Natasha's face fades, replaced by giggles and protests and panting and eventual _laughter_. Natasha stops reaching for Pepper, instead withdrawing her arms toward herself in a weak attempt at defense. While Natasha's distracted, Pepper carefully pushes her away on the grass, jumping to her feet and running to Tony. "Run, Iron Man, run!"

Tony doesn't need to be told twice; he whirls around quickly and _bolts._ Pepper follows him, catching up relatively quickly. They run side-by-side toward the secret base under the playground, breathing loudly in sync.

"We're almost there!" Tony says once they've reached the bark ground. Pepper nods.

"Hurry!" She looks behind her and catches sight of Natasha _hot_ on their heels; literally, she's _two feet_ away from them. " _Hurry,_ Iron Man!"

The game always ends when the heroes return to the base, as it means they're "safe" from the bad guys. Pepper pushes herself as hard as she can, grabbing Tony's hand to keep him going.

It's close; they _slide_ into the secret base, wooden chips flying this way and that around them and mercilessly scratching their arms and legs. Though it's painful, they're _safe_. Pepper lets out a sigh, dropping her head back against the ground.

"We _made_ it," she manages between pants, looking at Tony next to her. He appears to be in a similar (okay, maybe _worse_ ) state than her, his eyes wide as he struggles to catch his breath.

"Y-yeah," he says weakly, holding up their joined hands. "V-victory to t-team Iron Man…unless I die from cardiac arrest right now."

"Aw, man! We were so close!"

Pepper looks up to see Clint walking toward them, his hand rubbing the back of his head. She hopes he didn't bump it too hard when he fell earlier. Thor and Steve flank him; everyone's hair is messy and blades of the wet grass are sticking to Clint and Thor's legs. Bruce comes up behind them with a grin.

" _Pepper!_ " Natasha walks toward them with a frown, though they've all agreed on many occasions that it looks more like a _pout._ "You tickled me! That's against the rules!"

"Sorry, I forgot," Pepper shrugs. Tony _giggles_ from beside her.

"Remember next time!" Natasha says with a _hmph_ , crossing her arms and turning her face away in pointed anger. Clint gapes at the sight.

"Aw, come on, Tasha! Last time I broke the rules, you stuffed bark down my shirt!" he protests.

"You tried to _pick me up!_ " Natasha pokes his chest with an aggressive finger. "That's breaking the rules _way_ more."

"She has a point," Thor says.

" _Why_ are you siding with her?!" Clint says.

"I don't think you're going to win this one," Steve offers lightheartedly.

"You never learn, do you, Clint?" Bruce sighs.

" _Come on_ , guys! I'm innocent! _Innocent!_ " Clint groans.

Natasha sticks a tongue out at him. "Nuh-uh!"

"Yah-huh!"

As Clint and Natasha descend into their usual bickering, Pepper turns her head to properly look at Tony lying down beside her once more. Their hands are still connected between them. "I had a lot of fun today, Tony. Even though I'm gonna have a lot of bark in my hair."

"That's a _you_ problem," Tony teases.

"Excuse me, but I just _rescued_ you!" Pepper points out with a smirk. "I'm pretty sure you should be thanking me."

"You demand my _thanks_ a lot, ya know."

"Because I deserve it. So thank me."

Tony stares at her for a moment. Pepper returns the favor, simply watching him as she feels her heart rate finally slow down. Her breathing evens out a little, and she feels _less_ like she's about to _die_ from running. Then Tony leans closer toward her.

But he doesn't stop. Pepper opens her mouth to say something. _He's not stopping._ What's he doing? Pepper's heart rate suddenly _spikes_ again, jumping into her throat, because Tony-

Tony is _kissing_ her. On the _lips_.

For all of less than half of a second. Just a _peck_ , or whatever she remembers her parents calling it. But it...it was on the _lips_! Her cheeks flush _immediately_ , as she jerks her head back, eyes wide. Tony simply grins smugly at her.

"Was that a good enough _thank you_?"

Pepper isn't sure what to say, because, _wow_ , that was...her _first kiss_?! She gapes at him, blinking instead of replying, but the other Avengers fill the void for her.

"Oh my God! Tony kissed Pepper in the secret base!" Natasha screeches. The others make _ewww_ sounds as well. "That's so _gross!_ You've contaminated the secret base with your kissing-germs!"

" _Cooties_ , Nat."

"Shut _up_ , Steve!"

* * *

Tony still remembers kissing Pepper in their "secret base" sometimes.

It had been pretty funny. He hadn't intended anything serious when he'd done it, though; it was just a spur of the moment thing, an impulsive decision. Pepper was being _Pepper_ again, just like when he'd first spoken to her in kindergarten, asserting her way and demanding what she deserved. So Tony tried to compensate for that by _kissing_ her, albeit for less than a second, and had properly freaked out Pepper (and the others) in doing so.

Natasha had always said they belonged together. Heh. If only she could see them now.

Pepper is prying his fingers off of the bottle of scotch, pulling the glass away from Tony and setting it on the table in front of the couch with a soft _thud._ Tony blinks up sleepily at her, watching her face for some indication as to what she's feeling. There's some anger and irritation, along with disappointment mixed in there, too. And...something else Tony can't quite place, but it's not good.

" _Tony_ ," Pepper sighs, closing her eyes momentarily. Tony wonders what she's thinking, what she thinks of _him_ , this pathetic mess of drinking and destruction at the young age of eighteen. "Why do you do this to yourself?"

He smiles dumbly at her. "You're rescuing me again."

It's like the game they played as kids, where Iron Man couldn't _always_ save the day; sometimes, Iron Man himself needed to _be_ saved. That's when Pepper would come in, guns blazing, Rescue breaking through barriers to accomplish her name. Tony misses those days.

Especially since Rescue has long since disappeared, leaving this Pepper behind, who is now staring tiredly at Tony. "I can't always save you like this, Tony…" She shakes her head. "You need to start taking better care of yourself. God, I'm always so _worried_ about you."

"'S'okay," Tony tries to brush her off with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry about me, Pep. I'm not worth the trouble."

She slaps him.

It's not hard enough to really sting, of course, because that's just how Pepper is. When she's exasperated and done with his bullshit, whether it be when they were six or eighteen, she reacts physically, swatting his head or pinching his arm. Physically, it never _hurts_ , but emotionally, Tony understands the message: _stop being stupid._

"No," Pepper says simply, her voice low and eyes dangerous. She takes Tony's shoulders in her hands, holding onto him tightly. "You don't get to say that, Tony. Do you understand me? You mean _so much_ to me. I can't keep watching you live like this."

He wonders what, specifically, she means. Is it the endless partying? Or constant drinking at home? Maybe his occasional hookups with the other girls in their senior class? Ditching school, for that matter?

She moves around him, lowering herself onto the couch beside him. He keeps his head facing forward, staring at the wall; she leans her head against his shoulder, grabbing one of his hands and intertwining their fingers. Is this her way of getting back at him for their stolen kiss in their secret base when they were nine?

"Please, Tony…" she murmurs. "You've already been through so much. This is only going to make things _worse_."

Tony's eyes catch sight of a framed picture of his parents on the wall. He quickly averts his gaze.

"I can't sleep."

His admission bleeds out of him without any thought. Pepper lifts her head from his shoulder to properly look at him.

"Why not?"

If this were anyone else, Tony could dismiss the concern in her voice with some grand answer about his conquests in bed. But this is Pepper, and Tony doesn't want to be punched. (And she'd also see right through him, anyway.)

So he mumbles, "Nightmares," and leans back against the couch with a sigh.

She presses her lips together in a firm line. "It's hard to unsee the past."

"My brain _can't_ _stop_ ," Tony says dryly. "Any time I close my eyes, I'm receiving the news about my parents' accident, or being kidnapped, or _whatever_. I'm powerless and I can't do anything to stop things from going wrong."

He exhales loudly after all of that.

Pepper seems to process his words for a few moments before replying. Her voice is suddenly shaky. "I wish I knew how to help you, Tony…"

"Nobody can help," Tony says.

"I'm here for you," Pepper says anyway, and Tony knows she means it. After all, she's stuck by his side _this_ long. She squeezes his hand. "No matter what happens, I'll stand by your side. Always."

He doesn't doubt her dedication.

"Thank you, Pep. Maybe...maybe you can't make all of my problems go away, but, at least, you make me feel...safer."

She nods at his response, leaning even closer into him. It's comfortable. "You do the same for me, too. We need each other."

That they do.

They sit in silence for a few moments until Pepper lets go of him, standing up and holding her hand out to him. "Come on, let's go to bed."

"I don't wanna get you in trouble," Tony protests. Last time Pepper had stayed over on a particularly turbulent night, her parents had grounded her, assuming the worst. They are aware of Tony's... _habits_ , as are most people, but Pepper is different. Pepper is Pepper, Tony's best friend (aside from Rhodey, but that's a different kind of "best friendship" in itself), not some dumb girl he'd lure into bed to distract his mind and body from the horrors of the night.

But Pepper shakes her head. "My parents know that I don't come here for that. At least, I _told_ them that; it's just up to them to believe it," she says. "So, come on."

As Tony said, Pepper is Pepper, and Pepper has never taken _no_ for an answer in the years Tony's known her. So he gives in, taking the hand she's offered him and standing up with her. They walk up to bed slowly, Pepper watching Tony's movements carefully, as if his drunkenness will prevent him from walking. But it doesn't. He holds his alcohol well.

When they reach his room, Pepper doesn't reach for the light switch. Instead, she glances at Tony once, then looks back out to the rest of the dark space. "JARVIS, please turn on the lights."

Tony's almost certain that it won't work; his A.I. is buggy as _hell_ , and nearly everyone he's told about this particular project expects it to fail. Obie even _laughed_ at him when Tony first told him about it. (Some legal guardian he is.) Rhodey had even looked a little uncertain about it at first, but reassured Tony that if anyone could do it, _Tony_ could.

And much like she had in kindergarten, Pepper had eagerly listened to Tony's explanation of the project and expressed her excitement to see the finished product.

But JARVIS glitches most of the time and can hardly keep a conversation (which Tony intends for him to be able to do eventually). He doesn't even recognize _Tony_ 's voice sometimes.

The lights turn on after a few moments.

"Guess he likes you more than me," Tony grumbles, scratching the back of his head.

"Thank you, JARVIS," Pepper says, leading Tony into the room. It's a complete mess, per usual, but Tony figures Pepper can just bother him about that tomorrow morning. For now, she looks pretty tired. "We have school tomorrow."

"Not planning on going," Tony informs her blankly, pulling back the covers of his bed. Pepper looks at him. "They're clean, don't worry. No sex here. Yet."

Pepper grimaces, but it's a mere shadow of her initial reactions to Tony's bedroom activities years ago. She shakes her head. "Sometimes I forget that you're a boy."

He blinks at her. Though her words take him by surprise, Tony finds that he understand where he's coming from. Even though he'd first believed Pepper to just be some weird girl in their class thirteen years ago, she became his close friend so quickly afterward that she just became _Pepper_ to him. Not his classmate or a girl, just _Pepper_. Pepper is Pepper. "I forget you're a girl."

"Speaking of that…" Pepper sits down on his bed, which is _huge_. Maybe Tony's dad never loved him emotionally, but he definitely made sure Tony had a nicely sized bed to sleep in. Tony mimics her, sitting down on the opposite side of the mattress. "Senior ball is coming up."

"Ah, the last dance," Tony comments, leaning against his headboard. "The dance to end all dances."

"Do you have a date?"

Tony shrugs. "Do you?"

Pepper mirrors him. "No offense, but a lot of the guys in our class are just... _ew_."'

She has a point there. Tony nods solemnly. "You should see the boys' bathroom. It's _disgusting_."

"I believe you."

"So…" Tony tilts his head. "Are you asking me to be your platonic date?"

They'd attended nearly every other high school dance as such. As Pepper had said, a lot of the boys at their school were... _eh_. She'd tried dating several of them over the years, but Tony had found them all to be boring and a little creepy, like they just wanted to get into bed with Pepper (which she always refused).

"Actually," Pepper says, averting her eyes, "I was wondering what it would be like if we, uh…" She sighs. "This is not a conversation we should be having while sharing a bed."

Now Tony grimaces. "Pepper, I'm _not_ having sex with you."

Her cheeks redden considerably. "That's _not_ what I'm asking!"

"Okay, good, because that would make things... _weird_. Like, jeopardizing-our-friendship weird."

"The thing I'm trying to ask is jeopardizing-our-friendship weird, too. A little. Or a lot. I don't know." Pepper groans. "What I mean is...what if we went to the dance...not as friends?"

"As enemies?"

She facepalms at that. "Tony, do you _really_ think that's what I'm asking?"

"I mean, it would be a fun way to stir up some interesting drama for the senior class."

"Look, Tony...I like you."

"I...like you, too?"

" _More_ than a friend."

"A brother?"

"No, like, almost like a _boyfriend_."

He swears his heart skips a beat. A part of him even _celebrates_ Pepper's words, but that _horrifies_ him. He can't date _Pepper!_ He stuffs down the happy part of him. "Nope, nope, _nope_ , Pep, you know I'm not dating material. I'm just as bad at it as those dickheads at school."

"That's why I want to try going to the dance as a couple with you. I don't understand what I'm feeling." Pepper lays her hand over his, and, _okay_ , that's _definitely_ not fair if she's trying to convince him they _aren't_ a romantic thing now. "Haven't you ever thought about this yourself? I mean, we've been together for so long…"

Tony wants to say no, that's ridiculous, stop it, Pepper deserves better than the likes of him, he doesn't _do_ relationships.

But, alongside that, the six year old within him is leaping for joy, because from the moment Pepper first looked at him with that pointed look of hers, he's wanted to be with her for _forever._

(Where the fuck did _that_ come from?)

"Let's just talk about this tomorrow," Pepper sighs when Tony realizes he has yet to reply. "Besides, you may not even remember this conversation when you wake up in the morning, will you?"

Oh, he will, alright.

"I'll be whatever you want, Pepper," Tony finally says with a nod. He just wants Pepper to be happy, especially after she's put up with him for thirteen years.

"Thanks, Tony." Pepper smiles, kicking her shoes off her feet and lying down under the covers. "But that's not what I want; I want you to be what _you_ want. And if we both want the same thing, well, then that's great. If not, that's great, too."

She's as _peppy_ as ever. Tony finds himself smiling back at her as he lies down beside her.

"I'm here if you need me," she tells him, placing a kiss to his forehead. He wants to remind her of the times _she_ got mad at _him_ for kissing her cheek during their Avengers shenanigans when they were younger, but he's too exhausted. "You don't have to handle everything alone."

"Thanks, Pepper."

He turns over onto his other side, facing away from her, but he can feel her presence behind him. Pepper's watching his back; she's sharp, so Tony knows nothing will be able to sneak up on him as long as Pepper's there. He closes his eyes as Pepper softly commands JARVIS to turn off the lights.

* * *

He wakes up to a nightmare and the sound of soft breathing behind him at 3:24 AM.

"It's okay, Tony, you're safe," the voice of accompanying the soft breathing informs him, her arm wrapped around his midsection, holding him. _Rescuing him_. She yawns. "You can go back to sleep now. I won't let anything bad happen to you."

Tony opens his eyes then, turning on his side to face Pepper. Her azure eyes flash briefly in the low lighting of the room. He nods. "Yes."

"Hm?"

"Yes, I'll go to the dance with you as a couple."

Pepper yawns again, pulling her hand back from Tony to wipe the sleepiness from her eyes. "You remember what we talked about?"

"I wasn't _that_ drunk." Tony rolls his eyes. "Have more faith in me, Pepper."

"Oh. Okay." Pepper hums a bit. "My dress is blue. Like, dark blue, but not navy blue. Kind of like the ocean, when you're out on a boat."

She's rambling, clearly only half-awake, but Tony nods along to her words. "I think I have a tie of that same color. What kind of corsage do you want?"

"You ask me this every time," she mumbles, closing her eyes. "The usual. I just want a flower. Is there really that many options? Make sure the ribbon on it is blue, though."

"Got it, got it." Tony yawns now. "Does this mean we're a couple _now_? Or starting on the day of the dance?"

"Do I really need to answer this?"

"Is the answer that obvious?"

"I'm _sleepy_ ," Pepper whines, pushing her face into her pillow.

"Aw, you're so cute when you're grumpy."

"Starting now, then, I guess," she sighs.

"You're going to have to wear the pants in this relationship for a while, though," Tony informs her. "I don't _do_ relationships. I don't know what to do. You'll have to lead me until I know what I'm doing."

"Stop having sex with other girls," Pepper instructs, her words muffled by the pillow. "Take me on nice dates. Buy me chocolate. Hold my hand."

Tony grabs one of her hands. "Done."

"And _let me sleep_ …"

"Got it, honey."

" _Goodnight_ , Tony."

"Goodnight, Pepper."

She falls asleep practically within _seconds_ then. Tony watches her breathing even out, then looks to their connected hands between them. The weight of his decision suddenly crushes him. He pales.

How is he supposed to maintain a _relationship_ with _Pepper_ _Potts?!_

* * *

How is she supposed to maintain a _relationship_ with _Tony Stark?!_

No matter how much of an "old married couple" she and Tony may be (according to Natasha and the others, at least), an _actual_ relationship is...that's _serious!_ That's _responsibility!_ That's _pressure!_

"You're both taking this too seriously, for one thing," Bruce calmly tells Pepper when she confides in him only a _hours_ after being in a relationship with Tony. Not even a _day._ They haven't really had much of a chance to do anything yet, sure, but who _knows_ what will happen from that point on? It's _terrifying!_ "Tony ranted my ear off about this earlier. What's it been? Twelve hours?"

"We've been together since approximately 3:30 AM last night." Pepper checks the watch on her wrist. "So...nine hours?"

"Happy anniversary," Bruce says dryly. Tony's been rubbing off on him too much, Pepper decides. "Seriously, though. You both just need to _calm down._ This has been a long time coming, anyway."

Pepper nods to Bruce's words, but pauses when she registers his final sentence. "What do you mean, a _long time coming?!_ "

"He kissed you when we were nine," Bruce points out. "I saw it. We all did."

"That doesn't mean anything!"

Bruce sighs. "You two were meant for each other, honestly. You're both so... _squirrelly_ about this."

"Whatever, Bruce."

"And you both talk to me like that." Bruce rolls his eyes. "A match made in heaven."

But Pepper's still nervous. Though she and Tony have always been close, they've drifted in certain areas. Interactions with potential dating (or sex, in Tony's case) partners is one of those areas. Pepper knows Tony never really liked any of the guys she dated, but she didn't like _any_ of the girls he slept with, either; so they stopped exchanging notes on those things because it often led to arguments. "Bruce...what if Tony wants...um…"

Ideally, she'd ask Natasha about this kind of thing, as a fellow girl, but Natasha's not here. Bruce is. Fortunately, he picks up on her anxiety quickly and places a hand on her arm.

"Tony won't pressure you into anything, Pepper," he assures her. "Even though he goes a little...overboard, sometimes, he really does respect you as one of his closest friends. Being his girlfriend won't change that."

Pepper hopes he's right.

* * *

"Dude, chill out."

"I _can't!_ " Tony protests, crazily raising his hands. "Rhodey...I'm _dating Pepper!_ "

" _Finally_." Rhodey scoffs, highlighting words in his copy of _1984._ "Seriously, _everyone's_ been waiting for this. You guys and your 'platonic dates'... _please_."

"That's not helping!" Tony covers his eyes with his hands, _very_ distressed. "How can you be doing homework at a time like this?"

"Unless I'm mistaken, _you're_ the one having an existential crisis in the middle of the cafeteria, _not_ me," Rhodey says. "Meanwhile, _I_ have a test in English after this that I need to study for."

"You've dated girls." Tony grabs Rhodey's arm with a sense of desperation. Rhodey scowls into his book, trying to capture more words with his purple highlighter. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but...I need advice."

"First of all, as I've been saying, _chill out_." Rhodey glances up at him. "You're pacing and screaming bloody murder. People are staring. Guys who do that aren't attractive."

As Rhodey said, other students _are_ starting to stare. Tony isn't usually embarrassed, but a sense of humiliation suddenly crawls up his spine, urging him to just sit down next to Rhodey. He leans in close to him. "What if I make her mad? You know me and Pep. We _infuriate_ each other. It's in our DNA. If we're dating, does that make anything different? Also, does that mean no more platonic sleepovers? Wait...this means no more platonic _anything!_ "

"For _Christ's sake_ ," Rhodey groans, slapping his book closed and capping his highlighter. He turns to Tony, taking him by the shoulders. "Tony, _literally_ , _nothing is going to change_. You and Pepper are already _so close_. You're going to treat each other the same. You're going to breathe and eat and sleep the same. The only difference is you have to stay _loyal_ to her; no more flings with the other girls around here. And take better care of yourself, otherwise Pepper might die from the stress."

Tony absorbs all of Rhodey's words quietly, his lips pressed together in thought. Maybe Rhodey has a point...everyone already assumes Pepper and Tony are together whenever they interact around others. They're just so used to each other, they've truly become the "old married couple" Natasha had first told them they were when they were eight.

Rhodey sighs. "Look. Just relax and go with the flow. I'm telling you, nothing has to change between you and Pepper. Except now you can kiss her and cuddle her and hold her hand and _whatever_ , you can do your gross P.D.A. and no one's gonna bat an eyelash about it. Being in a relationship is all about respect, trust, and love, three things that I _know_ you and Pepper already have covered."

He's right, Tony realizes. Ever since Pepper first boldly entered Tony's life, he's had a respect for her confident demeanor. The trust came with time, as Pepper really supported Tony during his worst moments, and even beyond them (see: staying with him overnight when the nightmares got bad). And love... _wait_.

Tony loves Pepper.

The realization hits Tony...peacefully, like a gentle wave lapping against the shore. There's no vicious undertow threatening to pull him out to sea, or a current so treacherous he's knocked off his feet. It's just natural. Like it's always been this way, unconsciously, and it was always _meant_ to be this way. Fate. Destiny. Something grand and cliche like that.

"You've got it _bad_ ," Rhodey laughs after ten seconds of silence pass between them, shaking his head playfully and patting Tony on the back. "You're in _deep_."

His protest dies on his lips. "I'm not…"

"Luckily for you, I know Pepper feels the same."

He gawks at the confident Rhodey. "H-how do you know?"

"Trust me. I know."

Tony hopes he's right.

* * *

Pepper loves Tony.

The realization hits her while she's walking across the street from her house to his _mansion_ in her ball dress, heels _clack_ ing against the asphalt. Being a couple with Tony is still a weird concept for her, but the idea of _loving_ him is just...oddly normal. Maybe because she's always loved and valued him as her closest friend, it's not as weird of a thing to think about. Even so, Pepper never _loved_ any of her other boyfriends (oh, God, Tony's her _boyfriend_ ), so it's just shy of _horrifying_.

When did she start loving him? She has no idea; for all she knows, it could've been the moment they became an "official" couple, or it could be when they first exchanged words in kindergarten. Either way, it feels like she's always had a place by Tony's side, and he by hers, like they always _belonged_ together. Is that possible?

She reaches his house, eerily calmed by her thoughts. Before she can knock, the door swings open, revealing Tony dressed in his nicest suit (Pepper's familiar with his closet after acting as his fashion advisor for many events). He's holding his blue tie in his right hand, smiling sheepishly at her. "A little help?"

Pepper pulls him by the hand outside onto his porch. She takes the tie from his hand and loops it around his neck, something she's done many times before. Tony silently watches her.

"Um...you look...nice," he says slowly, a hint of uncertainty in his voice. She glances up from her working hands at him, feeling her curled, strawberry blonde hair brush against her open back. He licks his lips. "I mean...you look _really_ nice."

"Gee, what a compliment."

"I'm speechless," Tony admits as Pepper finishes up. Her hand lingers on his chest as she smirks at him.

"I can tell. You're usually a lot more hyper-verbal."

He covers her hand on his chest with his own, bringing it down between them. She intertwines their fingers.

"You're beautiful, Pepper," Tony says earnestly, squeezing her hand. "Really. I'm a lucky guy."

Pepper leans closer to him. "You clean up pretty nicely yourself."

Tony clears his throat, his gaze traveling between her lips and her eyes. "Permission to kiss you, Ms. Potts?"

She laughs softly. Though being in a relationship hadn't changed much of their usual behavior and interactions, they'd realized it meant P.D.A. could be added into the mix. While they would sneak kisses and touches here and there, Tony occasionally likes to make a show of his romantic gestures.

"Permission granted, Mr. Stark."

The world stills around her then, the sounds of the breeze rustling the leaves of the trees overhead accompanied by the occasional chirp of a bird fading into a void of silence as Tony's lips meet hers. His hands carefully hold her face, his thumb brushing lightly against her cheek. This isn't the first time they've kissed in the weeks of their budding relationship, but it feels _different_. She grasps Tony's suit jacket against her palms as she smiles against his gentle lips.

Though it lacks what Pepper would call "passion", it's full of warmth and affection, which means more to her. She's not interested in getting, err, _physical_ with Tony at this point in time, so she's thankful that even Tony's well-experienced sensual gestures act according to that. He pulls back from her lips, resting his forehead against hers.

"This is my favorite dance out of all four years of high school already," he murmurs.

Laughter bubbles up from her chest and escapes her mouth once again as her fingers relax against his chest. "If we stand here any longer, I think we're going to be late."

"And that's a bad thing because…?"

"My mom's watching us from my driveway," Pepper informs him, opening her eyes. "She can see everything."

"She can see... _shit!_ " Tony's eyes fly open as he takes a step back from Pepper, craning his neck to look behind her toward her house. "I'm sorry! It won't happen again, Mrs. Potts! Please allow me to continue courting your daughter!"

"Relax, relax, she can't see _that_ well," Pepper reassures him, patting his shoulder. "But she does want to take pictures before we go."

"Oh." Tony calms down, breathing a sigh of relief. "Why didn't you say so before?"

Intertwining their hands between them, Pepper leads Tony down the steps of his porch. She registers the now familiar _clack_ of her heels as she walks down the driveway. Tony squeezes her hand.

"I don't know if this is the right time to tell you this or not, or even if I _should_ tell you," he says suddenly, looking up at Pepper (because she's got a few good inches on him, _especially_ with her heels), "but I think I love you."

"Oh?" Pepper stops then. Tony ceases walking beside her, waiting for her response. She smiles, meeting his eyes. "I don't know about the timing either, but...I think I love you, too. I just realized it on my way over to your house, actually."

Tony takes a deep breath, exhaling loudly as he looks straight ahead of him. "Wow. Okay. Wasn't expecting that."

"This just feels right."

"I get what you mean. Apparently, our friends have been waiting for this to happen."

"Bruce told me the same thing." Pepper's smile wavers as a bittersweet feeling fills her. "Guess Natasha was onto something all those years ago."

"She was always the perceptive type," Tony shrugs. "I just wish we realized it sooner."

"That's okay," Pepper says, feeling a sudden wave of confidence rush through her. "If it's meant to be, it'll happen that way, right?"

"I guess so…? You've always been better at this optimistic stuff than me, Pep."

"It'll all be okay in the end, because no matter what happens, we'll always have each other."

Tony scratches the back of his head. "Everything's gonna change really soon. What if something happens?"

Graduation and college are just around the corner; Tony has a point there. But, despite that, he and Pepper had already planned to stay close friends throughout their inevitable separation before they became a couple. Surely, they could do the same as this?

"I got you," Pepper assures Tony, looking at him seriously. " _When_ something happens, not _if_ , because shit happens in college, I got you, just like I always have since we were six."

A grin spreads on Tony's face then and he laughs a little. "I was Iron Man, protecting you from the bad guys. So, technically, I got you _first_."

" _Technically_ , technically, _I_ got you _first_ because I saved you from getting a problem wrong on your math homework."

"Whatever floats your boat, Pep. Say, wanna check all my homework for me when college starts? I can scan all the papers and email them to you-"

Pepper resumes crossing the street then, pulling Tony behind her by his hand. " _No way_. Be a good student and do your own work."

Tony groans. "Yes, honey."

* * *

 **A/N:** I am a Big Softie when it comes to childhood friend AU's ok,,, reblog if you cry every time

I've also been wanting to write my own Avengers childhood friends AU (as can be seen by the length of this and the inclusion of the scene where they 'played' Avengers at the park) so uh? Let me know if you'd want to read that? It would focus mainly on Nat (as can be seen by how much attention she got in this HAHA) and Clint (eventual Clintasha) but also be Really Tragic so,,, please let me know if you'd wanna read it (just say yes fam)

Aside from that, YAY HAPPY PEPPERONY WEEK PEPPERONY GIVES ME LIFE I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT PEPPERONY WEEK MMMMMK BYE (also why can't pepper be rescue in the mcu)


End file.
